How to Plan a Day at Alexandria’s Sunken City Show
Alexandria has a new must-see exhibition for culture lovers
If you have been looking for a strong reason to plan an Alexandria day trip beyond the usual corniche walk and seafood lunch, Alexandria National Museum now has one. The museum has just opened “Secrets of the Sunken City”, a temporary exhibition dedicated to underwater discoveries from Abu Qir Bay, and it is one of the clearest ways to connect the city’s present-day streets with the ancient worlds that once stood offshore.
The exhibition was inaugurated by Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy and Alexandria Governor Ahmed Khaled Hassan Saeed as part of Alexandria’s underwater cultural heritage activities. According to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the show includes 86 artifacts from the ancient cities of Canopus and Heracleion in Abu Qir Bay, east of Alexandria, and it will run for six months. The ministry also said some of the underwater pieces on display were discovered during Abu Qir excavations in 2023, adding extra weight for repeat museum-goers who want to see something genuinely new in Alexandria’s museum scene.
Why this exhibition matters
This is not just another archaeology display. The draw here is the subject itself: objects that spent centuries underwater before being recovered from one of Egypt’s most fascinating submerged landscapes. Ministry materials describe the 86 finds as reflecting daily life, religious beliefs, and funerary practices in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. In other words, this is a show about how people lived, worshipped, and died in the coastal world that shaped ancient Alexandria and its surrounding ports.
That makes the exhibition especially appealing for readers in Egypt who want a day out with substance. Instead of treating Alexandria’s heritage as separate stops, this show helps tie together Abu Qir Bay, the city’s Graeco-Roman layers, and the broader story of the Mediterranean coast.
Know before you go: Alexandria National Museum
Alexandria National Museum sits on Al Horreya Road (Fouad Street) in central Alexandria, inside the former Italianate palace of Asaad Basili Pasha. The museum says it officially opened to the public in 2003 and presents Alexandria’s history from prehistory to the modern era. It is already known for its holdings from Abu Qir Bay, so the new exhibition fits naturally into the venue rather than feeling like a detached add-on.
- Opening hours: 9:00am to 5:00pm daily
- Last ticket: 4:00pm
- Egyptian ticket price: EGP 20 for adults, EGP 5 for students
- Foreign ticket price: EGP 220 for adults, EGP 110 for students
A practical tip: go early, especially if you want to pair the exhibition with one or two other heritage stops on the same day. The museum also recently opened a new private library alongside the exhibition. The ministry says it holds around 1,100 books spanning Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Coptic, Islamic, modern history, museum guides, and conservation sciences, with accessibility features for visitors with visual impairments.
How to plan the ideal culture day around the exhibition
Stop 1: Start at Alexandria National Museum in the morning
Arrive at opening time if possible. Give yourself at least 90 minutes inside. You will want enough time not only for “Secrets of the Sunken City,” but also for the museum’s permanent galleries, which help put the underwater finds in context. For Alexandria residents and Cairo-based weekend trippers alike, this is the most efficient first stop because it anchors the rest of the day historically.
Stop 2: Continue to the Graeco-Roman Museum
After the National Museum, one of the smartest nearby pairings is the Graeco-Roman Museum, also in Alexandria and one of the city’s major cultural landmarks. The museum describes itself as Egypt’s only museum fully dedicated to the civilization of Egypt during the Greek and Roman periods. That makes it an ideal second act after seeing the underwater finds from Canopus and Heracleion.
- Opening hours: Sunday to Thursday, 9:00am to 5:00pm; Friday and Saturday, 9:00am to 8:00pm
- Last ticket: 4:30pm on regular days, 7:00pm on Friday and Saturday
- Egyptian ticket price: EGP 40 for adults, EGP 20 for students
- Foreign ticket price: EGP 400 for adults, EGP 200 for students
If your main goal is to understand the world around the objects in “Secrets of the Sunken City,” this is probably the best museum follow-up in Alexandria.
Stop 3: Head west for Qaitbay Citadel
For a sea-facing finale, go to Qaitbay Citadel in Anfoushi. It is one of Alexandria’s most iconic heritage sites, and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities recently opened a new visitor centre there to improve the experience. Qaitbay is especially relevant after the exhibition because the ministry’s heritage materials also point visitors to Alexandria’s underwater archaeology around the eastern tip of the Pharos peninsula.
- Opening hours: 9:00am to 6:00pm
- Last entry: one hour before closing
Even if your day is museum-first, ending at Qaitbay gives you the Mediterranean setting that makes Alexandria’s sunken-history story feel real rather than abstract.
What is happening on 20–21 August
The exhibition is part of a wider Underwater Cultural Heritage Day programme in Alexandria. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities lists the event at Alexandria National Museum from 8:00pm on 20 August 2025 to 10:00pm on 21 August 2025. Ministry coverage of the launch said underwater cultural heritage activities and events were being held across several museums and archaeological sites in Alexandria Governorate over those two days.
For visitors, that means the smartest plan is to treat the exhibition not as a standalone errand but as the centrepiece of a bigger heritage outing in Alexandria during 20–21 August. If you are in the city on those dates, expect stronger cultural programming than usual and build in extra time around museum visits.
How to shape the rest of the day nearby
Because this article belongs squarely in the Alexandria day-trip lane, the best version of the itinerary is simple: museum in central Alexandria, lunch nearby, second museum or archaeological stop, then sunset by the sea. Fouad Street and the surrounding central districts make an easy base after your first visit, and the westward move toward Anfoushi and Qaitbay works naturally later in the day.
If you still have energy, other heritage options in Alexandria include Kom El-Dikka, where the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities lists the archaeological area and its Roman theatre among the city’s key open sites. But if you only choose two follow-up stops, the strongest combination remains the Graeco-Roman Museum for context and Qaitbay Citadel for atmosphere.
The bottom line for Egypt-based readers
“Secrets of the Sunken City” is exactly the kind of exhibition that works for an Alexandria day trip: new, specific, local, and rooted in Egypt’s own coastline rather than imported spectacle. With 86 underwater finds, a six-month run, and direct ties to the 20–21 August underwater cultural heritage events, it gives Alexandria one of its strongest current culture itineraries.
For anyone planning where to go in Alexandria this season, the formula is easy: start at Alexandria National Museum, give the exhibition proper time, pair it with the Graeco-Roman Museum, and finish at Qaitbay Citadel. Few Egyptian day trips right now connect archaeology, city history, and the Mediterranean as neatly as this one.